View full sizeRunoff from logging roads can't be considered industrial "point" sources of pollution.The Oregonian

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected increased regulation of logging road runoff, ruling on Oregon-based lawsuits that the timber industry warned would cause regulatory chaos.

In a 7-1 decision, the court reversed a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that said active logging roads need Clean Water Act permits, like those required of factories and feedlots, to better control muddy runoff into streams.

Last year, just before the Supreme Court heard the case, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a new rule clarifying that it would not regulate logging roads as it does industrial "point" sources.

Like farms, forest roads would not need specific permits, the agency said, though states must have plans to deal with pollution from those "non-point" sources.

"We're feeling pretty good that the court basically agreed with the EPA and agreed with us," McNitt said. "Congress intended for the states to establish these practices."

The timber industry and the state of Oregon argued that treating unpaved logging roads as industrial activity would spark more lawsuits on logging projects. It would also require permits, monitoring and data collection for thousands of miles of roads and thousands of culverts, ditches and pipelines, industry officials said.

NEDC said the concerns were overblown, and that relatively simple general permits would improve scattershot tracking of pollution and prompt more road improvements.

Logging roads, prone to rutting by heavy logging trucks, can send dirt, rock and sand into rivers when it rains. That can smother salmon and trout eggs, reduce oxygen levels and bury insects fish feed on.

Paul Kampmeier of the Washington Forest Law Center, one of NEDC's attorneys on the case, said the Supreme Court's decision made clear that the EPA has leeway to interpret clean water rules as it sees fit.

EPA has said it is still studying the impact of logging-road pollution, Kampmeier noted, and has acknowledged that the runoff hurts water quality and native fish, including salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act. NEDC is appealing the EPA rule issued last year.

"The court generally ruled that the ball's in EPA's court," Kampmeier said. "We're going to continue on behalf of our client pushing EPA to do something about it."

EPA, which oversees state regulation of non-point sources, could pressure states to improve logging-road rules and oversight. Solutions for reducing runoff range from bioswale sediment traps to road regrading to hay bales placed to stop sediment.

Oregon's Forest Practices Act requires loggers to follow best management practices, including not building new roads along streams and reduced logging in wet weather. The Oregon Department of Forestry has 51 stewardship foresters who can inspect logging projects, focusing on those most likely to affect streams.